Sunday, January 24, 2010

Robbie Burns Dinner

It was another fine night at the Scottish Cultural Centre. This year's Robbie Burns Dinner was most memorable for the children. There were gaggles of them. The young dancers were out in full force and never was the haggis piped in sweeter. The toast to the Haggis was delivered with appropriate flair. Laura gave me her haggis and I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the roast beef dinner with that added special something, called Haggis, but an acronym for Holy, Ascending, God of God, Intestinal, Solution. If only everyone on earth would eat Haggis there would be peace on earth, good will to men and general enlightenment and increased intelligence and beauty in the rest of the world. As the man beside said, there are really only two types of people, those who are Scottish and those who want to be. The man across the table told a joke about an octopus that could play every musical instrument but when offered the bag pipes didn't realize they were a musical instrument but instead thought it was an octopus wearing a fancy night gown. Many men wore kilts and the ladies were dressed most beautifully with amber broaches a plenty. Laura had pressed heather earrings and I had my most marvelous dirk that comes accompanied with a fork and small knife. The scots are a practical lot or the weapon is meant to put fear in the enemies as it suggests that we're ready to eat you if we have to fight you. Ski in doos were the ornate socks knives that were as common tonight as the Sporin's. The Mad Celts played Highland Dances, waltz's, twists, Gay Gordons and the YMCA song. One minute were were doing the jerk to a sixties song, then we were doing the latest line dance from the slums of Glasgow they we were in a circle doing group dances being called, though no one seemed to pay much attention to the directions, as there was confused bumping about with much laughter. It was a wild night of great hilarity. I danced with an elderly lady who remembered me from last year when we'd tripped the light fantastic. The Scottish Cultural Centre has dances Friday nights and we must make a point to get out to them. Apparently some of the people had been given cheat notes for a couple of the numbers where most of the rest of us milled about and laughed a lot. Laura and I jived but there was a young couple who really did cut up the rug with the latest in ball room coupled with youth. The kids were dancing with the grand parents too. It was that sort of really fun dance. On the other hand it may just have been the Haggis.




2 comments:

haykind said...

I liked the years I was a vegan too but in terms of health stats, the vegans only fare well in North American. Elsewhere in the world the peasants are the vegans. In North America, when wealth which is strongly associated with good health and longevity, is factored out or corrected for, vegetarianism in North America doesn't fare so well.
And yes I 'm well aware of the high cost of steak and how underestimated poutry (I raised meat chickens)back when I was hobby farming and raising my own vegetables. living that life.
Mostly though I've hunted and fished.
Even Farley Mowatt in the end recognised it was the cities and the city folk that were the greatest danger.

haykind said...

In the context of what I was writing, I suppose a Vegan Haggis might do the trick but only if it was a Scottish Veggan Haggis. The vegetables and recipe would have to come from some place like Findhorn if they were to overnight enlighten the world and cause all manner of over night intelligence through contact with things Scottish.